life in photos #1

 I'd love to explore derelict buildings | having a play around with cameras and lights and Illamasqua logos | sunset 

ain't revision fun | the view from the living room when it momentarily stops raining | because washing lines are interesting

I think not having a usable Instagram account is getting to me. I haven't gotten round to buying myself a smartphone (there are so many other things that are crying out for me to spend money on) and the only way I can use the app is on my camera-less iPod. Not ideal.

Fear not, I'm not going to overload you with these kind of posts as more often than not I don't venture outside and instead play video games all day forget to take my camera with me when I go anywhere, and the camera on my phone is crap to say the least.

So here we go, a start at doing lifey posts. Baby steps.

notd | dusty rose

Collection 2000 Milkshake | MUA Ur Fab

Say hello to my new nail polish purchases, fresh outta Superdrug. Initially I was thinking of applying just the Collection 2000 shade (yes I am still refusing to call them Collection, and apparently the Superdrug website is too), but I get bored of wearing plain nail polish so quickly that in order for me to be able to keep any colour on my nails for more than two days, I have to jazz it up a little. And a little bit of ombre never hurt anyone.

I have *attempted* ombre nails before, but the process of getting the colour opaque enough took so long that I thought there must be a quicker way to do things. Sure enough, after a spot of Googling I decided on applying a white base coat (I used Nails Inc Floral Street - the best white nail polish I own) which enabled me to only have to sponge on two layers of the colours to get them looking nice and opaque.

The actual sponging application is easy, if not a little messy. I painted the nail polishes thickly onto a makeup sponge (these ones) - one colour on the top, one on the bottom. It's pretty important that when dabbing the sponge onto the nail that you move the sponge up and down a little so the colours merge, and I'd also recommend applying a top coat to even everything out and blend the colours together a bit more.

I've just realised that, and I hope you don't mind that I do this, I never talk about the actual colours of the polishes in my nail posts. Hopefully the photos do the talking for me.

While I'm here I might as well mention a few websites that I've been enjoying lately - PS Beauty is a website that finds you your perfect foundation from completing a profile, and on what you thought of foundations you've tried already. It's certainly put some extra products on my ever-growing wishlist! It's still in beta at the moment, and I've been told that some pretty amazing updates are coming including the site branching out into all areas of makeup instead of just foundation, so if you're interested definitely keep a lookout for that.

I've also joined another site called Amazine, which is a slightly different take on blogging websites - I'd say it's most akin to Tumblr but minus the fandoms. I love browsing the site as it's just so pretty, the gorgeous layout and photo-based articles make for a very lovely website that has an almost editorial look to it. You can find my profile here.

editor's pick birchbox

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Plump 'N Thick Leave-In Thickening Mist | Birchbox Eyelash Curler | EBOOST Pink Lemonade | Jason Lips Bee Healthier Lip Balm | Nail Girls Silver Polish | L'Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream 

In my last Birchbox post I mentioned that I had a voucher code for a free Editor's Pick box as a perk of subscribing. Well, it's finally arrived and I'll be honest here and say that this box seems like more of a box of leftover samples that needed to be got rid of, rather than the "editor's picks". Nevertheless, a freebie is a freebie and here's a run-down of what's inside.

The Thickening Mist and the L'Occitane moisturiser for me are the stars of the box and I'm looking forward to trying both of them out, however I don't have any need for the lip balm or the eyelash curler as I already own both so they'll be passed on to friends.
I'm guessing that the pink lemonade sachet is some sort of powder that you add to water, and according to the website it's an energy supplement. I'm planning on taking this with me to the biology exam I have in two days time along with a bottle of water, so I have some caffeine in me. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I can't function without caffeine. Especially when I've been up all night cramming.

Usually I'm all over nail polish like a rash, but metallic shades just don't appeal to me that much - they're a bit too streaky for my liking. I'm imagining this would look lovely with some kind of nail art though, and the mini bottle is the perfect size for some like me who never ever manages to get through a whole bottle of nail polish.

A little Latest in Beauty sample box also arrived today, and I'm still debating as to whether they're value for money or not - sure, they only cost £1.50 but the samples are so small...

Thoughts?

oh look, another wishlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Lately I've been lusting after far too many beauty related products than can be considered healthy. And for some reason, putting them all in a collage and sharing them with the internet seems like a good idea.

1. I've stopped wearing foundation recently, and the sole cause of it is that every single one I own isn't very forgiving on my dry patches, so I've been going without and hoping that no-one decides to look at my face too closely. I've been reading up on good foundations for dry skin and the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum ticks all the boxes. It's also far more affordable than splashing out on some high end foundation - £30 for a small bottle of skin-coloured liquid is a bit over the top.

2. This has to be most beautiful light blue nail polish I've ever seen, but the frustrating thing is that it's not available anywhere that ships to the UK. It's name is Simply Aqua and it's from Lancome's recently released SS13 collection, so I guess I'm just going to have to play the waiting game until the collection lands in Britain.

3. We've all heard of the little tubes of goodness that are the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters, and a few new shades have been released this year and I want them - more specifically the shade Wild Watermelon. Go Google some swatches and try to tell me that I don't need it.

4. I have heard far too many rave reviews of the Nars Creamy Concealer to not buy it. It may just be the miracle my undereye circles have been waiting for, as although I've lusted after the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer for eons, I'm slightly apprehensive about using a cream concealer under my eyes as I'm so used to using a liquid one.

5. Over the past week I've been searching online for dungarees like nobody's business, and I think I've found the perfect pair. They're cheaper than something from the likes of Topshop and I'm in love with the details - everything from the three buttons on the side and little rip to the crossover back and double pocket on the front.

6. So many people love the NUXE Lip Balm that I'm desperate to give it a go (also EssieButton can convince me to buy anything) and I'm making an effort to stop using Carmex, I think my lips have got addicted to it and as a result if I stop applying it my lips get withdrawal symptoms and turn into a horrible cracked mess. Plus I will always welcome a new lip balm into my stash with open arms.

7. And last of all, I'm attempting to resist Fragrance Direct's £4 OPI nail polishes. I need a new nail polish like I need a hole in the head but I'll be damned if I ever stop buying them. The shades I'm eyeing up are Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? and I Have A Herring Problem, and I'm amazed that I've managed to narrow it down to two as there are so. many. colours.

What are you currently coveting?

uk magazine freebies - may 2013

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this month has been one of the best ever for magazine freebies. I might be biased as one of the free gifts is a Nails Inc one, which are by far my favourite nail polish brand and coupled with a Benefit freebie what's not to love?

So yes, I did mention Benefit and here it is - a mini 4g They're Real mascara with Elle magazine (£4). The wand is full sized and the mascara is apparently worth £9.50, I've been wanting to try it for such long time and I'm a bit too excited now that I've finally got my hand on it.
In the mag is a sachet of the Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream and a sniff of Thierry Mugler's Alien.

Marie Claire (£2.50) has a choice of three Avon products that together are worth £20.50, the Smitten Red Lipstick, Supershock Gel Eyeliner or a Brow Definer - I think the shade is Dark Brown -  as well as a sachet of their BB Cream. I picked up the eyeliner as it's been on my wishlist for such a long time, but Avon's delivery costs have always put me off.
Also in the magazine is a sniff of Calvin Klein's Euphoria, and as well as Marie Claire having some free Ciate gifts last month there's the promise of Ciate goodies in next month's issue too. 

InStyle (£3.90) is the bringer of the Nails Inc freebies - 10ml full size, no less and worth £11 each. The colours are You're A Peach, Totes Pink or It's Red, Babez (don't the names make you want to cringe?). My local newsagents only had the peach and red colours when I popped in, so I grabbed the red and restrained myself from buying any of the other colours as they didn't look particularly special. Actually, scratch that. I want the pink too. Might as well get the peach while I'm at it.
The samples in the mag were exactly the same as Elle's - a sniff of Thierry Mugler Alien and a sachet of the Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream.

And last is the only offer that I didn't get - a free 50ml REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Cream with Harpers Bazaar (£4.20).

Have you picked any of this month's magazines up yet?

notd | bring on the neons

Well ain't this summer-y.

These may just be the first neon nail colours to grace my nails this year, and I have to say it feels good to take a break from darker nail polishes and switch to some brighter ones.

I used China Glaze's Papaya Punch for the orange base, which was rather streaky and took three coats to even the colour out. For the pink I used the easily dupable Nails Inc Shoreditch, which applied slightly better and was opaque in two thin coats.
I also tried experimenting with other orange and coral shades, on the left in the photo below is Nails Inc Brook St. and in the middle is Rimmel Apricot Punch. I ended up going with China Glaze Papaya Punch as the other two didn't contrast enough with the pink for my liking.

I've never really been one for neon nail polish and most of the time have stuck to pastel colours, but I feel that the highlighter pen look is beginning to grow on me and I'm looking to expand my neon polish collection.The Model's Own Ice Neon collection has been on my radar recently, the shade Pink Punch in particular looks stunning.

P.S I've finally made this 'ere blog more friendly to mobile users - so if you've tried to visit here before on your mobile and thought it was ridiculously awful, it's fixed now. Hopefully.

P.P.S Click here for some breathtaking photos.

weleda

I've mentioned before that Weleda is one of my favourite skincare brands, but I've never done a proper review of their products mainly as I'm a complete newbie when it comes to reviewing skincare. But I might as well plunge in at the deep end, so here's my thoughts on all the Weleda products that I've been using regularly.

The One-Step Cleanser & Toner has to be the most gentle cleanser I've ever used and has been a lifesaver for my combination skin. Somehow it's made both my dry patches and my oily skin (you wouldn't think it was possible to have both, would you?) even out and my skin is much more "balanced", if that makes sense?
 It's not the best for removing makeup and as it contains citrus essential oils it stings when it gets in your eyes, so I've taken to using my Bioderma to remove all my eye makeup and the majority of my face makeup before using this and the pair work so well together. Although it's branded as both a cleanser and a toner, I still like to use a separate toner afterwards to make sure every scrap of makeup is gone.

My Purifying Lotion has almost run out, so you'd be forgiven for thinking that I've formed a proper opinion of it by now but I'm still undecided as to whether I like it or not. The lotion is very thin and runny, and markets itself as "intensive care for problem skin" which I'd have to disagree with. It's nowhere near as intensive as the likes of the Origins Super Spot Remover, and I doubt that it would help much in sending a big ol' nasty blemish crying for it's mummy.
However, the Purifying Lotion is great for preventing spots and for dealing with those tiny little bumps that just won't piss off, and it's far less drying on the skin than the heavy-duty spot treatments out there.

The Skin Food is probably the product that Weleda is most known for, and for a good reason. It's an all-purpose cream that works wonders on dry skin, but don't let the full tube in the photos fool you - lately it's been getting a lot of love from me. I've taken to slathering it on my elbows and lips before I go to sleep and always wake up to lovely soft skin! Skin Food definitely isn't the only cream of it's kind out there, but the all-natural aspect and the low price makes this a winner in my book.

Night cream is the sort of thing that I'm not fussed about, most of the time I just use my daily moisturiser but a few months ago my skin was starting to get very dry as the effects of winter started to set in. I had tried a sample of the Wild Rose Smoothing Night Cream and loved it, but when it came to buying the full size I saw the word "hydrating" and pounced on the purple tube of Iris Hydrating Night Cream as I thought that was more suited to my skin type.
I do like it, but it leaves a greasy residue on the skin afterwards that takes a while to sink in. I'm guessing this is just from the almond oil but it does feel as if it's slightly clogging my pores. I think out of all the products this is the one I'm most likely not going to repurchase, and go for the Wild Rose Smoothing Night Cream instead.

Do you like the change of scenery for the background?